


Yesterday Once More

by tirsynni



Category: The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
Genre: Gen, Mild Hurt/Comfort, Revalink If You Squint, Sickfic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-27
Updated: 2019-12-27
Packaged: 2021-02-26 04:07:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,382
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21987133
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tirsynni/pseuds/tirsynni
Summary: Kass and vague memories find an ill Link after Vah Ruta.
Comments: 10
Kudos: 244





	Yesterday Once More

**Author's Note:**

> A self-indulgent fic after I unexpectedly grew sick before the holidays.

No matter how hard Link tried, he couldn’t remember this land. He sat on his black mare’s back -- Penelope, another name which meant nothing to him, but it sounded pretty -- and stared out at the green field. He knew there was a stable nearby, but its name escaped him. Everything seemed to escape him at that moment: everything but the lingering dampness in the air from Vah Ruta’s rains. Stopped now, Vah Ruta -- Mipha -- enjoyed some semblance of peace, but the chill and damp lingered on Link’s skin.

Link rubbed the bridge of his nose and looked out again. One Divine Beast saved, three more to go. One to the north, two to the west. North would be easier - and from what he understood,  _ warmer _ \-- but something in his heart, a memory of a memory, called  _ westward _ .

Or perhaps that was simply the cold he was picking up. Link sneezed and Penelope snorted indignantly at him. 

_ Another horse snorting, a familiar voice scolding him, “The cold doesn’t cause colds! That is just a myth. Here, look at this --” _

Another sneeze and the memory was gone. Link sniffled and rubbed his nose again. Not even a full memory, but the warmth of it lingered. A smile teased his mouth. So many of his memories were filled with dread and his good one? One where he was pretty sure he was sick. His quiet laugh became a cough, which he buried in his elbow.

Maybe not caused by the cold, but Link couldn’t dismiss the half-ton of lake water he swallowed trying to defeat Vah Ruta’s defenses. If it wasn’t for Sidon, he would have drowned for sure.

“Ah, my friend! That sounds like a terrible cough!”

Already so close to his sleeve, Link took a moment to wipe his nose on his bicep. Surely not what the Sheikah garb was meant for, but it was no worse than bloodstains. He stifled one last hack as he raised his head. 

Kass stood beside Penelope, his ever-present accordion for once on his back instead of in his wings. If having the large Rito beside her bothered her, it didn’t show. Penelope only whickered and stamped one foot, the world open and beckoning in front of her and Link failing to move. Any other day, Link would empathise, and he thought Kass would, as well. Now Link could only think about how warm Kass’s feathers looked and wondered if that thought was rude. He wondered if he used to know.

Any other day, Kass seemed larger than life, especially as he bustled over to Link, feathers hovering over him, but after spending so much time with Sidon, he seemed a respectable size. This close, Link could hear the soft rustle of Kass’s feathers. 

“Pardon my rudeness, but you should be resting, not out here in this field.” Another flap of wings, as if Kass wanted to touch him but didn’t dare. “You are --”

_ “-- such an idiot. What were you going to do with that lizalfos? Sneeze on it?” _

Link blinked and shook his head. It felt like his brain swished in his skull -- feathers, he remembered, something about his head being filled with feathers -- and despite the headache building behind his eyes, one slow throb at a time, Link wanted to smile. He didn’t understand why a memory of an unknown voice insulting him warmed him, but its gentle heat was undeniable.

He raised his head to meet Kass’s worried eyes.  _ I think he would have liked you _ , he thought and was too tired to question it.

Carefully, gently, as if Link was one of the glass baubles he saw in Zora’s Domain, Kass rested his wings on Link’s shoulders. After the chill of the Domain, Kass was  _ warm _ , and Link wanted nothing more than to lean into him. “The nearest stable is not far, but too far for you, I fear. Come! After all this time traveling, I can make a lovely campfire.”

Link smiled. A little. It still felt odd on his mouth, like stretching an unused muscle. He supposed he didn’t smile much in his hundred year sleep.

_ He would have liked you, but he wouldn’t admit it. _ Like so many similar thoughts, Link let it drift away, unexamined. Focusing on those strange almost-memories never helped, like trying to grip sand.

It was those strange memories of memories which made Link nod. He was cold and tired, as if Vah Ruta’s century-long grief had settled into his bones. It made him think of Mipha, freed but still trapped, still waiting with Vah Ruta.

“Come, my friend,” Kass coaxed, gentle wings drawing him from his thoughts. Link noted how careful he was to touch only Link and not Penelope. It was for the best. Penelope, while calmer than when Link originally caught her, still tended to bite. Kass’s feathers were warm ( _ familiar _ ) on his arm, and Link nudged Penelope with his knees to follow Kass’s lead.

The throb grew behind Link’s eyes, a sharp pain building in his sinuses, but it was the exhaustion weighing down his eyelids, his bones, which seemed to be winning the fight. He found himself closing his eyes and leaning into Kass’s broad shoulder. Something inside him hissed at him to move, something sharp,  _ angry _ , with an odd viciousness, but it drifted away in the waves of his exhaustion.

_ “Always such an idiot,” _ that voice from beyond whispered, harsh and fond. Even as it seemed to pull something, drawing out a low ache, Link smiled sleepily.

“Stay awake a little longer, my friend. My ingredients aren’t the freshest, but I have enough to make a lovely Hearty Salmon Meunière.”

Link yawned, only to turn and stifle a cough into his shoulder. “Revali would like that.”

Kass paused. “...yes. Yes, he would. Come now! This is a good spot to rest. I have a blanket you can rest on. The last thing you need is to sit on the cold, wet ground right now.”

Those words jerked Link awake. The voices faded into the ether. He was still on Penelope, which for some reason surprised him. While he had been dozing, Kass had led them under a broad tree. Kass’s accordion rested on one blanket, and Kass dug through his bag, clearly searching for a second. Link wasn’t sure what bothered him more: moving to a new location without realizing it or Kass dirtying a blanket for him.

“I have a blanket,” Link interrupted. His voice was soft and hoarse. He  _ felt _ his sinuses dripping down his throat and grimaced. He thought he had honey in his bag somewhere…

Kass flapped a wing at him. “Oh, it’s no worry! I’ve learned to always be prepared during my time on the road. If need be, you can repay me by listening to my songs. I have one or two I wish to practice before I reach the next stable.”

That didn’t sound right, but Link was too tired to argue. Whether it was his cold or several days of fighting the Malice inside Vah Ruta followed by a Zora party, he didn’t know. Sidon in particular could be… enthusiastic.

Before his weary mind could catch up, Kass had another blanket on the ground and Link sitting on it. Link thanked him by doing his best to sneeze into his elbow instead of in Kass’s face.

_ “Hylians. Bodily fluids everywhere.” _

_ “Revali!” _

Link leaned back against the tree, closing his eyes and smiling without realizing it. Even with the blanket, the ground was cold and hard under him, but in his memory, there was warmth and sunlight. 

“This is one of the songs my master taught me, but it isn’t one he intended for this journey. Regardless, it means a great deal to the Rito. Would you care to hear it?”

Already half-asleep, Link nodded. He barely noticed when another fluffy blanket was wrapped around his shoulders. 

“This song is said to be one of Master Revali’s favorites…”

For once, Kass didn’t play his accordion. He sang wordlessly, and Link’s heart followed the notes even as his mind couldn’t, taking him away from his itchy nose and sore throat and throbbing head, to another fire and another singer.

When Kass woke him up for dinner and tea, Link couldn’t remember what he dreamed.

**Author's Note:**

> Check out my [tumblr](https://tirsynni.tumblr.com/) for more fic info and Legend of Zelda.


End file.
